Phillips found dead in prison

Lawrence Phillips, a star run­ning back at Ne­braska, first-round NFL draft pick and a CFL player whose pro ca­reer quickly un­rav­eled amid dis­ci­plinary prob­lems, was found dead in his Cal­i­for­nia prison cell early Wed­nes­day, and of­fi­cials said they sus­pect sui­cide.

Guards at Kern Val­ley State Prison found Phillips, 40, un­re­spon­sive in his cell. He was taken to an out­side hos­pi­tal and pro­nounced dead about 1:30 a.m., the Depart­ment of Corrections and Re­ha­bil­i­ta­tion said.

He had been housed alone in a seg­re­ga­tion cell since April 2015 af­ter he was sus­pected of killing his cell­mate.

A Kern County judge had ruled Tues­day there was enough ev­i­dence to try Phillips in the death of Damion Soward, 37.